


Another Storm. Another Teacup.

by NightMereBear



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-04
Updated: 2020-02-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:41:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22553428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightMereBear/pseuds/NightMereBear
Summary: In Fodlan, Claude had seen more of the same. More whispers. More fake smiles. More inane politicking. Then he had met the chaotic mess of personality and ambition that was the Golden Deer, and before he realized what was happening, an odd sort of family had formed. A family that fought and griped more often than not, but one that had faced down Nemesis together. In the heat of battle, they had protected each other as well as their ideals. They had followed Claude through hell, believing in his vision for a brighter future, despite not knowing if they would see it.How was he supposed to say goodbye to that?
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 12
Kudos: 114
Collections: Those Who Drabble in the Dark





	Another Storm. Another Teacup.

**Author's Note:**

> So this was supposed to be for the Felannie Server's Drabble Challenge... This past week's prompt being 'Goodbyes.' What started off as a drabble became something more. I couldn't stop writing and 2000ish words later I was like: welp, that happened. So anyway, I hope you all enjoy reading my 'not drabble' as much as I enjoyed writing it. >< Reconnecting with my Golden Deer fam. :) <3

The stars were brilliant that night, sparkling and glinting like gems cast in a velvet sea. Claude von Riegan stared up at them, breathing in the tranquility of the evening and listening to the sounds of celebration drifting from the halls of Garreg Mach. After so long at war, it was good to hear people letting loose a little. The festivities had started around mid-day and were bound to continue well into early morning. Champagne flowed freely, loosening inhibitions and setting the mood for what was bound to be an unforgettable night of cheer and reveling.

It had been easy to slip away to the Goddess Tower, but significantly less so to say goodbye to the woman he had met there. Claude could still feel the cool metal of Byleth’s ring beneath his glove, the warmth of whispered promises mixing oddly with the pain of farewell. It would be so easy to turn around and go back.

His eyes drifted in the direction of the tower. 

An inquisitive rumble issued from beside him and Claude turned to regard his wyvern. 

“You’re right, I'm being way too sentimental. We should get going,” he said, resting a hand reassuringly against her scales. Yet instead of climbing into the saddle, he found himself looking back toward the monastery. Toward the people he knew were inside, wiling the night away with feasts and dancing. His classmates. His soldiers. His friends.

Claude owed them more than he could possibly say, so he wouldn’t say anything at all. Vanishing like a wraith in the night was better anyway. It was far more heroic and mysterious; like the leading man in a storybook. He had done everything he could for this corner of the world, and now it was time to take on another. ‘Another storm, another teacup.' Leonie had said something like that once, a lifetime ago. It seemed a fitting theme for the evening.

_Hilda…Lorenz…Marianne…Lysithea…Leonie…Raphael…Ignatz…_

Every one of them was living proof that the people of Fodlan were not cowards. He'd have brought all seven along with him if he could, just to prove that fact. A small sigh escaped his lips. He was going to miss them, more than he had ever let on.

It was time to go.

Claude set his foot in the stirrup, preparing to hoist himself into the saddle. 

“So, this is what you meant by 'vanishing,' is it?”

Claude's chin dropped to his chest. He should have known better than to think he could slip away. A resigned smile ghosted across his lips as he shook his head and turned around. It was Lorenz who had spoken, but the Golden Deer were all there with varying expressions of accusation on their faces.

“Oh, hey guys!” Claude said brightly. “Nice night, isn’t it?”

“Save it, Claude,” Hilda retorted, crossing her arms across her chest. “We know what you’re up to.”

“Hilda! Sweet Hilda…” Claude responded. “You know I have no idea what you’re—”

“We’re not stupid, you know,” Lysithea interrupted. “Your _wyvern_ is right there. You’re clearly going somewhere.”

“Somewhere far by the look of it,” Leonie added, nodding to the saddlebags fastened meticulously across the creature’s back. Claude chuckled nervously, for once in his life at a complete loss for words. They had caught him red handed. Trying to convince them otherwise would be an insult to their intelligence. 

“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” Ignatz asked quietly, voicing the suspicion reflected on all of their faces. 

“Leaving!?” Raphael inquired loudly, his brow furrowing. “He’s not leaving! The professor’s coronation is tomorrow! He wouldn’t miss that! …Right?”

“He’s leaving, Raphael,” Hilda stated, her gaze catching Claude’s and holding it, daring him to contradict her. Of course, she had seen right through him. She always had. Hilda must have seen him leave with Byleth and put two and two together from there. She’d even rallied the troops. A part of him was flattered that she had gone to all the effort.

He met their eyes, looking at each of them in turn. 

“You guys don’t need me anymore," he said honestly. "Fodlan is in good hands, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the world is. I have to do what I can to fix that. So… I have to go.”

Hilda actually rolled her eyes. “That’s all well and good Claude, but you’re not allowed to just run away from us,” she told him. He opened his mouth to protest but the girl cut him off. “Not without saying goodbye.”

He blinked, momentarily taken aback. “Ah, well I suppose that’s fair,” he finally replied. Yet when he opened his mouth to say more, nothing came out.

In Almyra, Claude's mixed lineage had marked him as an outsider. He had constantly been on the lookout for knives in the dark, his clever schemes the only thing keeping him ahead of his enemies. Then he had come to Fodlan and it had been more of the same. More whispers. More fake smiles. More inane politicking. Then he had met the chaotic mess of personality and ambition that was the Golden Deer, and before he had realized what was happening, an odd sort of family had formed. A family that fought and griped more often than not, but one that had faced down Nemesis together. In the heat of battle, they had protected each other as well as their ideals. They had followed Claude through hell, believing in his vision for a brighter future, despite not knowing if they would see it.

How was he supposed to say goodbye to that?

And there, staring him in the face, was the real reason why he had tried to avoid this exact moment.

And maybe, just a little bit, that made him a coward after all.

He cleared his throat, his jester mask falling back into place. “Well guys, it’s been fun,” he said, lifting a hand in farewell. “Thanks for everything.” He took a step back, preparing to leap into the saddle.

“Claude wait!”

He paused, his toes inches from the stirrup.

“Marianne?”

The young woman pushed herself to the fore of the group. She had said nothing until this moment but she stared at him now, determination in her eyes. A flush spread across her cheeks as everyone turned to her, though she did not waver. 

“Um… I… Well, I just wanted to say,” she began. Her gaze dropped to the ground. Clenching her fists, she lifted it again. “Whatever you’re trying to do, it’s clearly a burden that can’t be easily set aside. But I still wanted to thank you for helping me face down mine. And…well…I just wanted you to know that we’re here for you. No matter where you go or how long you’re gone." She paused. "Um, th-that’s all I wanted to say.”

Claude stared at her for a long moment, remembering the timid, wary-eyed girl he had met a lifetime ago. She was so much stronger now. They all were.

“Thank you, Marianne,” he murmured. Her answering smile could have outshone the moon.

“I can’t believe you were just going to leave! After everything we’ve been through!”

Claude turned to where Lysithea was glaring at him, the expression so familiar it made his chest tighten painfully. He shoved those emotions aside with a sheepish grin.

“What can I say? Disappearing in the night seemed the proper exit for a—”

He cut off as Lysithea moved toward him, bracing himself for the inevitable shoulder punch. He was surprised then, when instead of a blow, he felt arms wrapping around him.

“You’re insufferable,” she mumbled into his chest. 

“I know,” Claude responded quietly, hesitating only a moment before returning the hug. “Thanks for putting up with me.”

“I just—! I don’t know if I’ll get the chance…” Lysithea trailed off, but Claude felt her grip tighten on him just a little. “I’m not crying!” she declared stubbornly instead.

“Of course, you’re not,” Claude replied.

“Well I am!” The tearful proclamation was all the warning Claude and Lysithea got before Raphael crashed into them, his big arms easily enveloping them both. “I’m really gonna miss you!”

“I’ll miss you too, buddy,” Claude responded, his voice strained from the force of the big man’s embrace.

“Aw yeah. Bring it in everybody!” Leonie exclaimed, jumping in herself. The next thing Claude knew, he was completely enveloped in his friends' arms as the Golden Deer crowded in around him. Well, most of them anyway.

“Get in here Lorenz,” came Hilda’s voice from somewhere in the tangle. “We’re having a moment.”

Lorenz’s protest became an indignant squawk as someone, likely Leonie, yanked him into the group embrace.

It was an odd feeling to be leaving Fodlan this way. Claude had come into this country an outsider, his parents' advice etched starkly across his mind. Independence. Self-reliance. He had thought these things his truest companions. That the only person in the world he could rely on was himself. How unexpected it was to have been proven wrong. How fortunate. It was the only time in his life that Claude was happy to have miscalculated so tremendously.

At long last they broke apart, an act accompanied by sniffles and excessive eye blinking as the Golden Deer tried to pull themselves together. Even Claude found himself clearing his throat, attempting to dislodge the rather large lump that had stuck itself there.

“Well, it’s about that time,” he said. “Thanks for everything guys.”

“You know where to find us if you need anything,” Ignatz told him.

“Stay out of trouble!” Leonie put in, crossing her arms and grinning.

“No promises there,” Claude responded. “But I’ll be sure to come back if I need you guys to bail me out.”

“As usual,” Lysithea added with a roll of her eyes.

Claude laughed, though his expression softened a moment later. “Look after Teach for me,” he murmured, his stomach twisting. His eyes flicked unconsciously toward the Goddess Tower. “At least until I get back.”

“She has our full support,” Lorenz replied. There was a moment’s hesitation as the two men regarded each other, years of challenge stretching between them. Then the corner of Lorenz’s mouth twitched and he extended his hand to Claude. “As do you.”

Claude grinned and returned the handshake. “Thanks, Lorenz,” he replied. “That means a lot.”

“Geez, enough with the emotional goodbyeing. Just get out of here already!” Hilda exclaimed with a truly inspired toss of her hair. Claude turned to look at her. It was a great performance on the woman’s part, but the glimmer in her eyes told the real story. He had always been able to see through her charades as easily as she saw through his. He would miss having someone around to call his bluff. Someone who saw through his mask.

“Hilda…” he began, though again found himself at a complete loss for what to say. At times like this, ‘thank you’ felt so insufficient. But as usual, she seemed to understand. A smile folded across her lips.

“See you around, Claude,” she said, speaking a thousand words with four. He nodded, a grin on his face. It was a true grin. One that held no deceptions or manipulations, but one that was truly, inimitably himself.

“See you around,” he responded. Then, before any more words could be said; before he allowed these people to keep him here forever, he turned and leapt onto his wyvern’s back. He gripped her reigns, allowing himself one more look at the people who had become his second family. “Enjoy the celebrations for me,” he said to them. “I expect you all to do your part on the dance floor. No reservations. We have reputations to maintain.”

“Aye aye!” Hilda responded with an enthusiastic salute while the others grinned or rolled their eyes accordingly. His gaze lingered on them a moment longer before he steeled himself and turned his sights on the heavens. If he didn’t leave now, he never would.

“Let’s fly,” he murmured to the wyvern, snapping the reigns and bracing himself for the feeling of the world falling away. They rose into the air on a gale of wind and beating wings, the Golden Deer waving vivaciously as Claude left them behind.

Before Garreg Mach could disappear entirely, he allowed himself one final look at The Goddess Tower.

A small figure still stood there, her face impossible to read from this distance. Yet even as he watched, she slowly lifted one hand in an expression of farewell. His lips quirked and he raised a hand in return, drinking in her silhouette like a man parched. Who knew how long it would be before he saw her again? But he had promised to return, and so he would. When everything he needed to do was finished, he would come back to her. 

“Let’s go home,” Claude murmured, giving his wyvern a fond pat on the neck. He would not look back. His aspirations were closer now than they had ever been before. He could feel it as surely as he felt the wind on his face. A new challenge awaited, only this time he wasn't facing it alone. Byleth’s ring pressed comfortingly against his skin and Claude found himself smiling. He would weather Almyra's storms as surely as he’d weathered Fodlan’s.

With a flick of the wyvern’s reigns, he set a course toward the horizon.


End file.
